Story of my life: history, memory and culture of the Madeiran community in São Paulo (in the 50's-60s')

• Grant number: 15/22774-3
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): May 01, 2016
• Effective date (End): August 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - History of Brazil
• Principal researcher: Maria Izilda Santos de Matos
• Grantee: Nelly de Freitas Moreli Rocha
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Sociais. Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC-SP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The project aims to study the Portuguese immigration from Madeira Archipelago to Sao Paulo State during the 1950's and the 1960's. At that period, in Portugal, the conservative and authoritarian government of Antonio Salazar struggled to keep the empire provoking several social and economic crisis in the country besides pushing many towards migration to Brazil. On the other side of the ocean, the development plans being executed since the aftermath of the Second World War increased the demand for more workforces especially in the State of Sao Paulo. For that purpose, we will conduct interviews with Madeirans immigrants having arrived in Sao Paulo at that time and who still are associated to the Casa Ilha da Madeira. Our main goal will be to register individual and collective trajectories while better understanding the history and the culture of the Madeiran community in the urban area of Sao Paulo. Finally, we hope to establish a new narrative on how these immigrants became « transformation's factors» to the population where there were integrated (CANDIDO, 1998, p. 32-33). Besides the reasons exposed below, the relevance of the topic is also justified by the recent changes Europe has known. The economic crisis has pointing again Brazil as a destiny of hope and opportunities. Finally, the project will continue previous researches undertook during the PhD entitled Des vignes aux caféiers: Étude socio-économique et statistique sur l'émigration de l'archipel de Madère vers São Paulo à la fin du XIXe siècle (Paris-Sorbonne University) and recently published in Portugal (DE FREITAS, 2014). (AU)